the fight for what may be the deciding factor, the women's vote for the race for the president. plus, our new polls in two crucial states. and secrets of the boy scouts, long kept from view, the disturbing cases about abuse, revealed today for the first time today in thousands of pages of private files. and boomtown, the places where americans are becoming millionaires ornight, but not everybody was happy about it. and the rescue, a boy with special needs lost in the woods overnight. he is okay, was found, turns out he had help from small friends to keep him alive. "nightly news" begins now. good evening, and now it is getting close.

19 days to go, until americans go to the polls. and you can see it in both campaigns, you can hear the urgency and feel it, tonight we have new poll numbers to debut, reflecting the race still changing. also, governor romney and president obama will face each other on stage, not to debate, but it is a big annual dinner where the candidates attend, trying to keep it light, even though it is heating up in the battleground states. and the urge to reach the undecided women voters especially. we begin with our correspondent, chuck todd. >> reporter: good evening, the battleground is narrowing, time on the campaign trail winding down. in this election it is about big issues but also it means the little things start to matter more. and also means the states like new hampshire start to matter more. >> 19 days, new hampshire. >> reporter: in a race that is coming down to the wire, swing states full of undecided voters

are getting time, attention and ads from both candidates. >> in 19 days you get to choose from the top-down policies that got us into this mess, or the policies that get us out of this mess. >> reporter: mr. romney spent the day focusing on foreign policy. his running mate hit the trail in florida. >> president obama is not telling you what his second term plan would be. he is not saying that he is offering anything new. all he is offering is four more years of the same. >> reporter: vice president joe biden in nevada fired back at mr. ryan, playing off the title of mr. ryan's book, "young guns." he used eyebrow raising rhetoric. some called the comments over the top. bruce springsteen, alongside

president clinton regarding the campaign >> governor romney's argument is, we're not fixed, so fire him and put me in. why in the wide world would you chunk a strategy that is working for one you know will not work? >> reporter: ohio and wisconsin are the states seen as the election firewall, because winning them means they could lose every other key state, including florida, nevada, virginia, colorado. and still get a win with 271 electoral votes. news polls in the states show the obama-joe biden ticket still holding a small edge, in iowa, an eight-point advantage, in wisconsin, six points, obama, 51, romney, 45. >> and we saw no difference in the real polls, before tuesday's debate compared to those polled last night, but we did see an uptick in the polls last night when asked which way the country was heading in that direction.

and by the way, brian, as you know, the president and mitt romney are in your neck of the woods, but before that, barack obama taped an episode of "the daly show," so nothing but comedy for them. 19 days to go. >> chuck todd, thank you, as we mentioned both campaigns stepping up the fight to win over women voters who are still undecided. more on that tonight from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it would be hard to miss today's target voters. >> i know you want the same thing for your daughters or sisters or moms. or grandmothers, as i do. >> fewer women are working today than when he took office. and so of the people who have gotten hit the hardest, it is women. >> would you sign the lilly ledbetter equal pay law? no answer, he can't say if he would sign the law already on the books. at an obama rally in ohio, even "the boss" chimed in

what do women want? mitt romney says jobs. >> this president's office has failed women, they suffered in terms of getting jobs. >> reporter: trying to make up for the "binder of women" stumble in the debate, the romney campaign was in iowa. >> and i know that governor romney would be that type of person to work across the aisle. >> reporter: the president counters that he would oppose the law. permitting more women to sue for equal pay. >> i have two daughters, i want to make sure they get paid the same as somebody's sons for doing the same job. >> reporter: both campaigns also showed new ads on abortion. obama is reminding people what mitt romney said before the nomination. >> would you sign it, yes or no. >> i would be delighted to sign the bill. >> reporter: romney's ad tries to make him appear more moderate now. >> turns out, romney doesn't oppose contraception, in fact, he thinks it should be an

option in cases of rape or to save a mother's life. >> both candidates know who their advocates are. >> this year, it is nearly 90 -- i would say 95% of what i hear from women is help. please help. >> economic help you're talking about? >> absolutely. >> we know that my husband will always have our backs. >> reporter: women with strong voices in their husband's campaign. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. now, to why the boy scouts of america are in the news tonight. it is about the release of thousands of previously confidential documents. they detail more than two decades of alleged abuse by the very people parents were trusting to take care of our children. our report tonight from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: many cases of known or suspected child abusers who were in the boy scouts. files kept by the boy scouts and made public today by two oregon attorneys.

>> the boy scouts knew they had an institution-wide problem with child abuse and didn't take steps to do anything about it. >> reporter: the files contain information on abusers from 1965-1985 in 49 states. this one concerns a scout leader convicted of child abuse in 1984 near syracuse, new york, holding his record sheet. letters between scout leaders and newspaper clippings, some cases went to authorities. others did not. >> it is a lesson that can't be learned well enough. and what these files represent is really the pain and the anguish of thousands of untold scouts. >> we're sorry it happened. >> reporter: in an interview earlier this week, the boy scout president apologized for not doing enough to protect them, but made no apology for the files he called the volunteer files. he says they have been kept since the '20s to keep the abusers from returning.

our eligible volunteer file is a big element of keeping track and making sure nobody gets in people should be happy we keep these files, we need to and will keep these files. >> reporter: today, they require background checks of all volunteers, mandatory reports of abuse and training. >> we do everything in scouting that we can to keep our kids safe. you will find all sorts of information on this website. >> reporter: this doctor says he was molested for two years in the late '70s. >> i told my parents and they went to the other assistant scout masters who persuaded my parents not to press charges. >> reporter: though his case is not included, he says that the files send a very important message. >> it really is a matter of going to the authorities. because the system is just going to protect itself. >> the boy scouts apologized once again this afternoon, and the organization promises to review all their files from the '60s to the present day and report all good-faith suspicions

of abuse that have not been reported to law enforcement. brian? thank you, anne thompson. we're learning more about the college student accused of plotting to set off the enormous bomb at the headquarters of the federal reserve bank here in new york. we get an update tonight from our justice correspondent, pete williams >> reporter: while quazi mohammad rezwanul nafis sits in a new york jail accused of trying to set off what he thought was a huge bomb, his family in bangladesh says he is no terrorist. his father says, i spent all of my savings to send him to america. his sister wants him back. >> he was a victim, because in bangladesh he was not like this. he was a good boy. >> reporter: quazi nafis came to the u.s. in january on a student visa to attend southeast missouri state but he left there in may, transferring to in may, transferring to a vocational school in new york.

investigators say he tried to find like-minded people on facebook who would join him in violent jihad. and that is how the fbi says he met an informant, a person who came here to study cyber-security. it is more than a dozen cases since 911 where the person tries to set off what he thinks is a bomb. >> reporter: one person arrested that way is mohammed, mohammed, trying to blow up a christmas tree lighting in portland. his lawyers say the fbi goaded him into it. but one intelligence official says once a suspect expresses a desire to kill, undercover agents must act like partners. >> do i continue to pursue him and allow him to go down the path or do i take a risk here and assume he is a want to be? you can't take that risk. >> reporter: they continue to monitor those, but some say they will be too dangerous and expensive. pete williams, nbc news,

washington overseas now to the continuing crisis in syria, where scores of more people were killed there today as government war planes hammered rebel-controlled areas from the air. rebels say many of those killed today happened to be children. and in greece, which has been struggling with a crippling economy, some 70,000 people took to the streets today in an anti-austerity strike, some clashing violently with police, throwing the firebombs and rockets. and thousands still in the dark after a powerful line of storms blew through the south last night. high winds and hail doing damage, downing trees, at least five suspected tornadoes in parts of mississippi and arkansas. today, the folks at noaa released their annual winter outlook, predicting it will be warmer than average in the central u.s., and in the west this winter, colder than normal. and in florida, it is also expected to be a drier than normal winter. sadly, that means the drought

could keep going, spreading worse in the west and northwest. and in europe, the wine lovers may have a problem with the grapes, the worst in 50 years. it is due to drought and frost and google caught up in a big mistake today. the earning numbers came out early, they were supposed to wait until the market closed. while they blame the company that prints the financial documents for them, the numbers in the report was real, the news was bad. so alarmed investors sold off a lot of google stock, trading was stopped until the afternoon, but as you see the damage was done. when it was all over, the stock had plunged more than $60, down 8% on the day. also an off day for all the markets overall. all three major indexes were down. and still ahead as we continue today. a part of america where suddenly a lot of people are getting very rich. but also asking if it is worth the risk.

and later, the puppies who are being held up as heros for what they did for a little boy in a very scary night. have you heard of the new dialing procedure

for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! all day today, our friends over at cnbc have been looking at the economy, we look at the state of ohio, just last night,

youngstown became a place to use fracking on public land, hoping to cash in on newly discovered oil and natural gas reserves underground. it is also creating new millionaires, but some say it is not worth the risk. more on the story. >> reporter: in the sleepy village here in eastern ohio, the county recorder's office is the most lively place in town. has it been like this every day? >> yes, for the last two years. >> reporter: the oil and gas researchers are looking over centuries old mining records, the most action that it has seen in years. this man leaves the oil and gas rights to the 1100 acre farm for 1.6 million.

>> it seemed to be a good idea to lease it, because the money was pretty good. >> reporter: and since he sold, the prices here are going sky high, making 88 new millionaires in one county alone in the last year. why is the land so valuable? it sits on top of the utica deposit, rich with oil and natural gas, but how the oil and natural gas is retrieved is controversial, known as fracking, millions of gallons of pressurized water are mixed with chemicals and put into the drilled wells, fracturing the bedrock and releasing previously unrecoverable oil and gas. while the industry insists the process is safe, the environmentalists worry that it could contaminate the drinking water. the industry has come to symbolize the anti-fracking movement. >> the question really becomes in the long run whether the

fracking itself, what they do with the disposal of the waste, what happens in the long run. >> reporter: despite the risks, many think it could be worth it. there could be a thousand wells drilled in the next two years, bringing tens of thousands of jobs to the area. the ripple effect with an eye on those jobs, the area high school is teaching welding for the first time in 20 years. at the local fall festival this year, the talk was more pipeline than pumpkin rolls. one family sold the drilling rights to the family's struggling evergreen nursery for more than five million. they spent money on a cruise for the grandkids and said the money has not changed them. >> we just get the opportunity to share and give to the community. we're very blessed, very blessed. >> reporter: because in eastern ohio, even the rich still need their apple butter. cnbc, ohio.

and up next tonight, the american institution you will no longer be able to hold in your hands.

the so-called lava lake inside the top of the kilauea volcano in hawaii is running very high right now with the level rising in the giant vent there in the top. it is within at least a 100 feet of the rim. the whole mountain top continues to expand and move there. it is wild there, it has been active since 2008. now it will be wild in the skies for the next couple of nights. and some folks in the san francisco bay area got a spectacular preview last night with a large meteor streaking across the sky. the shower happens every october, right now, just like clock work as the earth passes through the trail of the old haley's comet. during the adult lives of

most of our viewers there has always been times and news week at the checkout. now there is only time. "newsweek" is going away in 2013. at least the print version it was always the upstart, going against the conventional wisdom of time. "newsweek" took more chances, more edgy, risky, a great time for artists and writers when "the washington post" owned it. now it has gone the way of so much of print and will live only on the web, taken over by the beast, website up next here tonight, the story of the puppies who came to the rescue.

our final story here tonight is about a young boy with special needs who got lost in the woods and went missing for 18 hours. after a frantic search, he was found just fine. but what his family and the local folks found remarkable about this is how he kept warm for all of that time. and how searchers were led to him. his story, from nbc's rehema ellis. >> reporter: wrapped in a blanket and in his mother's arms, ten-year-old kyle kemp was

carried out of the woods to the ambulance. >> it was just amazing how wonderful, how happy. >> reporter: lost for more than 18 hours, kyle, who has down syndrome, was found on the family's 20-acre property, about a half mile from his house in alabama. kyle was last seen tuesday afternoon watching tv at home. a short time later, his family noticed he was missing. and they began a frantic search for him. >> just, just getting really scared because it -- it was about to get dark. >> reporter: a community rallied, more than 150 volunteers and emergency workers searched a perimeter about a mile and a half on foot and in the air through the night. at daybreak, the first sign of hope. the family's dog heard barking in the woods, that mother dog led volunteers straight to kyle, and her four puppies. >> i heard the dogs barking again.

and -- started yelling for the puppies and yelled for him, he yelled back, he was in the creek. probably the little puppies kept him warm. >> reporter: kyle was wet, without shoes, and stayed close to the puppies for warmth. >> i asked him if he was alright, he said yeah, and just wanted to go home. >> reporter: a volunteer carried kyle out of the woods and into the arms of his mother, a family grateful for the safe return of their son, and thankful for his four best friends, rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. and that is our broadcast on a thursday night. don't forget to join us for an all new "rock center" to the at 10, 9 central on this very station. thank you for joining us, i'm brian williams, we of course hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night.

he was denied eagle scout status because he is gay. a local scout takes his fight to the next level. >> reporter: live in oakland, an arm man on campus led to a lockdown at an oakland university. i'll tell you how it all ended coming up in a live report. >> also, the error by google people send shock waves through wall street. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. >> it has been a hot topic across the country.